Threads vs. Twitter: A Genuine Competition or a Mere Quest for Wealth and Human Exploitation?

Social media platforms have witnessed significant engagement from millions of users in recent days, following the launch of Threads by American billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, aiming to challenge Twitter, owned by fellow billionaire Elon Musk.

This move comes amidst an ongoing fierce competition between the two, who are among the wealthiest individuals in the world, in their quest to exploit and manipulate people, shaping their thoughts, values, and stealing their time, all for the pursuit of maximum financial gains.

Remarkably, despite the new application not being launched in Europe, the momentum generated by this rivalry has led Threads to amass 83 million subscribers in less than two days, resulting in billions of dollars in profits for individuals who fundamentally lack belief in humanity and persist in substituting machines for human interaction.

Conversely, numerous research institutions continue to publish scientific studies exposing the harmful effects of social media platforms and their role in what has become known as digital enslavement, causing numerous ailments such as addiction, psychological stress, and depression, with limited benefits to offset the costs.

 

New Front

After weeks of speculation, the American technology giant Meta officially launched the Threads application on July 5, 2023. Focusing on text-based posts, millions consider it a true competitor to the reliable Twitter platform.

Within hours after its release, Meta’s CEO, Zuckerberg, wrote in his inaugural post about the application, saying, “Let’s do this. Welcome to Threads.”

According to BBC and other online platforms, within 7 hours of its launch on July 5, 2023, the Threads application gained 10 million subscribers. Notably, renowned global figures such as singer Shakira and actress Jennifer Lopez, along with international media outlets like Reuters, The Washington Post, and The Economist, as well as media platforms like Hollywood Reporter, Vice, and Netflix, were among the early adopters.

Currently, the application is accessible in only a hundred countries, predominantly in South America, Africa, and Asia, due to the data privacy regulations imposed by the European Union.

During its launch, Threads leveraged the existing user base of Instagram, surpassing two billion accounts, which provided a significant advantage by eliminating the need to start from scratch like other applications.

As a result, a source from Meta revealed to Reuters on July 6, 2023, that the application’s release in the European Union has been postponed.

Meta is subject to the Digital Markets Act, which imposes strict regulations on major Internet companies.

One of these rules restricts the transfer of personal data between different products, such as Instagram and Threads. Zuckerberg had previously faced regulatory scrutiny for similar actions when Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014.

Users can log into Threads independently or use their Instagram login credentials and follow the same accounts they do on Instagram.

It is no surprise that Threads quickly approached the milestone of 100 million subscribers in less than 48 hours, while Twitter, established in 2006, has not surpassed 400 million subscribers after approximately 17 years since its founding.

The new application bears a resemblance to Twitter, allowing users to share short text-based posts that can be liked, reposted, and replied to, but it lacks the direct messaging feature.

Post length can reach up to 500 characters and can include links, images, and videos with a maximum duration of 5 minutes.

 

Human Enslavement

Discussing the values and policies of electronic platforms, it is worth noting that despite their differences and competition, both Musk and Zuckerberg are driven by greed and the pursuit of maximum financial and cultural influence, without any regard for human life, environment, or culture.

Numerous international studies and scientific experiments, such as Stanford University’s 2015 study titled Social Networking and Ethics, confirm that modern social media applications and user behavior within them contribute to significant psychological suffering.

The study emphasizes that these platforms give individuals a constant sense of being connected to a larger community, but this easy connectivity within the digital environment has negative impacts on ethics and values.

Among the notable effects, according to the study, are the deterioration of social interaction, neglect of familial obligations, addiction, cyberbullying, decreased productivity, stifled creativity, identity contradictions, privacy breaches, as well as internet crimes, depression, decreased patience, and the syndrome of speed.

In July 2019, US Senator Josh Hawley introduced legislative proposals to combat social media addiction.

The proposal aimed to impose strict measures on social media platforms that exploit human psychology and brain functions, impeding freedom of choice. It sought to ban features such as infinite scrolling and autoplay.

The American study highlights that these networks possess a power that extends beyond social dimensions, encompassing political, economic, and cultural realms. They influence information, habits, and traditions according to the visions of their owners, creating new values when necessary.

This is evident in current issues such as Homosexuality and the Israeli Occupation, whether through forced propaganda imposed on users or the banning and blocking of any criticism or opposing intellectual interaction against the owners’ visions and algorithms.

This effectively signifies the end of the intellectual pluralism they originally advocated for, replacing it with a new form of slavery.

Regarding this aspect, writer Amer al-Qashi stated that the American civil rights activist and revolutionary Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “A man can’t ride your back unless it’s bent.” So, is there bending happening on social media platforms?”

In an article on Al Jazeera’s website in December 2016, al-Qashi added: “Yes, there is bending in principles and bending in ethics, perhaps temporary blindness, which creates evident and clear electronic slavery for many.”

He continued: “Many deliberately distance themselves from specific individuals, their tweets, and their posts to avoid being banned or censored. Isn’t this a form of slavery?”

Al-Qashi concluded by quoting Tawfiq al-Hakim, who said, “When we eliminate hunger, we will simultaneously eliminate human slavery.

“I firmly say that if Tawfiq al-Hakim were still alive and had experienced these platforms, he would have said what he said,” according to al-Qashi.

 

Another Perspective

A scientific study published by the Daily Mail in mid-2015 suggests that the brain wants to check social media platforms every 31 seconds.

Another study has warned of the dangers of teenagers’ addiction to social media platforms to avoid them experiencing psychological pressures that may lead to suicidal thoughts.

Two other studies, also mentioned by the newspaper, have confirmed a correlation between teenagers spending over two hours daily on social media and their susceptibility to drug use and depression.

On November 8, 2022, BBC reported that the UK Addiction Treatment (UKAT) organization noted a 5% increase in the number of individuals seeking help for social media addiction treatment over the past three years.

Nuno Albuquerque, one of the counselors at the organization, stated that there is no doubt that society has become heavily dependent on social media and the internet in general.

The growing awareness of these concerns has led more people to quit or at least reduce the time spent on them.

This aligns with Meta’s announcement in late 2022 that the number of daily active users on its platforms had decreased for the first time in its history.

A leaked document from Twitter at the end of 2022 indicated that previously active users were tweeting less, and Twitter did not deny the accuracy of the leak.

Even Musk himself questioned on multiple occasions, “Is Twitter dying?”

So, will this significant momentum created by Musk and Zuckerberg contribute to the revival of their platforms and increase engagement once again, thereby leading to a clear boost in advertising and subsequent profits?!